LS 5623 Advanced Literature for Young Adults

Carter, Ally. 2006. I'd Tell You I Love You but Then I'd Have to Kill You. Hyperion Paperbacks: New York.
ISBN 9781423100042

Cammie Morgan attends a very prestigious private school. But she's not just learning the basic geometry and biology. She's also learning how to run undercover operations, how to speak most of the languages on the planet, and how to hack into fire walled computer systems. This school is churning out the next generation of great spies. One night while out on a graded track and observe mission, Cammie the Chameleon, known for being great at being invisible, is noticed by a local boy. She and her friends spend the rest of the semester on a mission to find out if this boy is a secret agent sent to find a crack in the academy's armor, or Cammie's soul mate.

No longer does the damsel have to wait for James Bond to rescue her from the villain. This novel features many strong female characters who know how to take care of themselves. Carter takes the typical high school crush to an adventurous level, making each date a mission, and making the conflict of choosing what path a girl must follow a life or death matter. The conflict Cammie faces of choosing to lead a normal life and have a boyfriend or to continue this dangerous path in spy school and train for deep cover assignments is really brought home by a few dark tones in the novel such as: Cammie's own father never returning from a mission, Cammie's teacher pretending that the friends she left behind on a mission are being tortured, and the unknown status of the father of one of Cammie's friends.

The story is easy to read and the relationships between the characters give this story that little bit extra to make it more than an adventure story (especially since there is no real villain). To quote School Library Journal 2006 though, "the cutesy dialogue quickly becomes grating." Still, action packed with a good climax, this book is sure to capture a teens attention and hook her into reading the rest of the series. Recommended for girls 6th grade and up.




Image taken from: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/ally-carter/id-tell-you-i-love-you-but-then-id-have-to-kill-yo.htm